Before
coming to Thailand I asked God to break my heart for what breaks His, and He
has. He has continued doing so this past
6 months of DTS and also on outreach. Through
this heartbreak I have learned how I constantly break the heart of God. I’m unworthy to be loved by Him and to be
used by Him but He chooses me anyways.
The stories I will share in the next 3 blog post are from experiences I
have been honored to be a part of.
Experiences I am so undeserving of so I hope I share in a way that
brings glory to God. May my life live to
glorify Him, to worship Him and to honor Him.
Our outreach was split into 3
parts. Our first part of outreach was
spent in Bangkok working with Baan Rak Teh (House of Authentic Love). This
ministry is located in a slum area near the Grand Palace and Sanam Luang. This ministry works with the homeless in the
area helping them get Thai ID cards.
These cards are important because without them the Thai citizens cannot
get the healthcare they need. A lot of
the homeless have TB, HIV, and AIDS so being able to go to the hospital is
important.
Baan Rak Teh also works with the
deaf community and have a few things for children. Not many children live in that area however
so they mostly work with adults.
THE POWER OF TOUCH
There was
one lady I had the opportunity to visit almost every day. I will call her P.W. She has HIV and painful boils all over her
body. She stopped going to the Dr.
because she doesn’t have an ID card and it was too much money to continue her
routine visits.
She is constantly scoffed at and
passed by daily because people are afraid to touch her for fear of getting HIV
or the skin condition. As I was talking
to her some people sneered at us and asked why I was wasting my time with
her. Some people even tried telling her
what to do and to stop bothering the foreigner.
I didn’t pay attention to
them. I just kept listening to her story
and how she got where she was today. Listening
is so important these days! There are so
many people in this world that just need someone to actually listen to
them. When she gave me an opportunity I shared
with her about Jesus love and that He has a better life in store for her than
the life she is currently living.
While I was praying for her I felt like
God wanted me to give her a hug, so I did.
When I asked if it was OK she couldn’t believe I would want to touch
her. It was a really emotional time for
both of us and even the translator told me she was surprised and touched by the
moment. I wondered if this was what
Jesus felt like when He talked to people.
I wondered if this was how the lepers felt when they came to Jesus. I had so much compassion for her and I know
it came from God.
She prayed
to receive Jesus and I connected her with Rak Teh who was able to help her get
an ID card and proper medicine for her health issues. Unfortunately I had to leave after 2 weeks
but the wonderful staff at Baan Rak Teh are continuing to disciple her and help
her get back on her feet. I have great
hopes for her future!
THE
DEAF HEAR GOD’S VOICE
We also had an opportunity to
minister to the deaf community in Bangkok.
Most of the people we met were born hearing but lost it because of high
fever or having many ear infections that go untreated since they don’t have
appropriate medical care. The school
system in Thailand isn’t really set up to help them either and there are not many
schools for deaf in Thailand. Because of
this a lot of them don’t really learn becoming illiterate, which ends up
putting them on the streets.
Some of the
deaf we met told us testimonies of how God met them in their dreams and they
heard Him speaking to them!!! I thought
that was really cool!!!! The power and
miracles of God really do defy all laws of nature! What an incredible, mighty God I serve!
I had the
opportunity to preach at the deaf church.
This was something I had never done before and I was really excited and
nervous to speak to them about Jesus. I
wasn’t really sure how to communicate effectively with them so I had one of my
friends who works with deaf in America give me some tips and also one of the
leaders at Rak Teh helped me figure out how to make my message work in a way
that would be easy for them to comprehend.
I spoke
from John 15 about abiding in Christ. I
got great feedback and the congregation responded well to the message,
participating in the activities I had planned for them. It was so awesome to be used by God in a way
I had never been used before. It
reminded me that God doesn’t call the equipped but instead He equips the
called.
The leaders
enjoyed the message so much that they invited me to speak at the service held
at Rak Teh Monday nights. It was a
blessing and honor to serve with these great people.
DISCIPLESHIP
OPPORTUNITY
One really special thing about this
outreach was that the staff took time to encourage and disciple me and the
other students of our DTS. They spoke
life into us as well, even though they have so many others they are helping on
top of their families. I really enjoyed
my time hearing the staff’s stories and being encouraged by them as well. I learned a lot from them on this
outreach. God also gave some of them
visions for me that really excite me about my future in missions. I can’t wait to share more about this.
I also had the opportunity to speak
with and learn from some key players in the YWAM Thailand Mercy Ministries; Steve
Goode, and Sam and Pat Sarvis. These are
great connections for when I return to Thailand next year. They have experienced a lot involving
injustice over the past 30+ years and I enjoyed my time hearing their stories
and getting to know more about the work of YWAM Thailand Mercy Ministries. They are very excited about the vision God has
given me and look forward to helping me find direction in that vision! I thank God for them!
Not only was this trip a good time
of serving but healthy in being discipled as well by some great leaders in the
fight against injustice. This was a
great way to start off our outreach!!
“I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready
to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by my
name. I spread out my hands all the day
to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own
devices.” ~Isaiah 65:1-2
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